


The Life and Times of Admiral Zhao

by NotValjean



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Arranged Marriage, F for Zhao, I needed to vent and I do that by projecting onto characters I love so, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Nothing is graphically described, So are the deaths of Lu Ten and the OMC, Zhao is 16 at his youngest point of this all, Zhaos death is meantioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:01:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26313064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotValjean/pseuds/NotValjean
Summary: Several one word prompts to illustrate the catastrophe that is the life of Admiral Zhao.
Relationships: Zhao (Avatar)/Jeong Jeong, Zhao (Avatar)/Lu Ten (Avatar), Zhao (Avatar)/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	The Life and Times of Admiral Zhao

Hopeful

The flowers were all a little wilted, and one had clearly been stepped on. But that excitement mixed with nervousness that he saw in Lu Ten’s eyes prevented Zhao from saying anything about them. Instead, he just smiled. 

Joyful

Years later and his happiness still feels empty. Zhao doesn’t think he’s experienced genuine mirth since he lost Lu Ten. Even toasting to Admiral - no longer Commander, not Captain, not even General -  _ Admiral,  _ felt… Wrong. 

Marvelous

The way Lu Ten fights - the way his body moves, his expression of cold calculation, shouts of power and effort - never fails to remind Zhao of  _ exactly  _ why he likes the man. 

“Exquisite,” he hums as Lu Ten strides over to him, sweaty and half clothed and still raring to go in the wake of his triumph, 

Ecstatic

Lu Ten was so excited about the assignment to Ba Sing Se, Zhao just didn’t have the heart to ruin it for him. Even though he was worried. He was very, very worried. 

Elated

When he got a letter with That Seal on it, Zhao felt like he’d ascended to a world of nothing but joy and good fortune. When he actually read it, all of that quickly came crashing back to earth, and he felt like he’d lost a few pieces of himself in the fall. 

Future

What harm could dreaming do? Dreaming about a happy, bright future with his brave soldier. About one day calling that soldier his husband…

The harm would be done when Zhao dared to let himself think such a thing might really be possible. That he might really get that future. It was done when he allowed himself to believe that he and Lu Ten could have any other fate other than a grisly one. 

  
  
Living

Zhao had long found the spirit world far more interesting than the world of the living. But now, he had a much stronger motivation to reach it than he did in his youth. 

He can still hear his brave soldier’s joyous laughter… 

Maybe that’s why he doesn’t take Zuko’s hand. 

Vivacious

He’d never met anybody as lively and friendly as Lu Ten. His teacher was ruthless and cruel, his husband could never, by any stretch of the imagination, be described as friendly, and they were the people he spent the majority of his time around. 

He looked at them, as he did with many others, and saw his pain, his anguish, his sorrow and his rage. 

He looked at Lu Ten and he saw a spring of life. 

Spunky

Zhao had never heard the word ‘spunky’ before, and he doesn’t much care for it now. He also doesn’t care much for teh way his unwanted and unwelcome husband looks at Lu Ten while he says this… Zhao can’t call it a compliment, because he knows it’s not. 

Glorious

Lu Ten leaves bruises on his hips after he has some glorious victory, and Zhao likes to pretend that all the finger tip bruises on his skin are from Lu Ten. 

The Admiral doesn’t make that easy for him. Especially if he takes notice of the ones that were not his own doing. 

Cloudy

The day he receives word of Lu Ten’s death, it’s foggy. It’s cloudy and dreary and miserable and Zhao thinks, ‘Good. I never want to see the sun again’.

  
  
Frightened

On his wedding day, Zhao throws up twice before he even gets the outfit on. He feels weak as he walks along to meet his husband-to-be. He’s afraid, and he can no longer deny that. 

But the way Lu Ten looks at him, dolled up in clothing he hates and looking beautiful and pretty and cute - just a few of the compliments Zhao hates receiving - he seems to see. He looks at Zhao like he thinks this wedding is a gross injustice, like he sees this affair for what it truly is. 

The way Lu Ten looks at him gives Zhao hope. 

Melancholy

Happiness becomes rare for him, and he learns to savor it whenever he can. Every time he kisses Lu Ten, he does so with the passion of a man who fears he may never have another happy moment for the rest of his life. 

Gray

A world without Lu Ten is a dreary, colourless realm of monotony and sadness, and sometimes Zhao wonders how long he’ll have to put up with it all. 

Dark

‘This isn’t so bad’, he thinks ‘I can handle this’. Lying to himself is the easiest way to live with his husband. Lying to himself, and thinking about Lu Ten. Because he knows Lu Ten would never hurt him like this. Knows that one day, his husband will be gone and the title ‘Admiral’ will no longer leave a sour taste in his mouth. 

Until that day, he just closes his eyes and thinks of Lu Ten. 

Restricted

Being touched is bad enough - Zhao has grown to hate it in recent years. Being bound makes everything a thousand times worse. The ropes dig into his wrists - his skin will be marked for days - and he almost sobs. 

_ Almost.  _

But he doesn’t. He refuses to give his husband the satisfaction. 

  
  
Sullen

Zhao is sixteen the first time he thinks he will never know happiness again.

He’s seventeen when the universe gives him a precious gift by the name of Lu Ten. 

He’s only twenty-four when that gift, and all of the secret joyful moments that came with him, are taken away. 

Zhao is in his twenties - his late twenties - his thirties - he’s thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-five - when he thinks he will never know happiness again. 

He is forty-four when he decides to stop keeping track of such things. 

Depressed

He doesn’t bother with his pain, because it’s so much easier to hide it all away. Why should he let himself be sullen, he’s suffered defeats before. Made countless mistakes, lost so much -

He’s not going to let pain rule him. Anger, however, he’ll gladly embrace.

Unhappy

“I wish you’d smile more often.”

“Who smiles when they’re not happy.” It’s a rhetorical question. 

“How can I make you happy, then?” Lu Ten takes it literally.

L onging

It reaches a point when Zhao spends most of his free time thinking about - no, longing for Lu Ten. 

Lu Ten and his easy smile, his beautiful face, jovial voice, gentle touches. 

Lu Ten, who is a walking ray of sunshine. A human oasis with whom Zhao can find precious minds of sweet respite from the rest of the world. 

Lu Ten, who he has not seen since Ba Sing Se. 

Zhao has spent a lot of time longing in the past couple of decades. 

Free

When his husband is killed in battle, Zhao seriously considers sending the earth benders who did it a thank you letter. 

He settles for drinking to his freedom instead. 

Childlike

The naïve joy he sees in Lu Ten’s eyes whenever he gives the man a compliment never fails to astound Zhao. He truly dreads the day when that innocence is gone. 

He remembers his day. 

He hopes Lu Ten will never be cursed with a similar one. 

School

Jeong Jeong’s methods of teaching Zhao discipline are certainly unorthodox, but they’re his last resort in his attempt to deal with a particularly troublesome student. 

It still doesn’t work - because of course it doesn’t - and Jeong Jeong gives up all together when he starts seeing marks that he didn’t leave, and when his student’s temper becomes even more volatile than ever before.

Kite

Zhao lays beside his brave soldier under a tall, beautiful tree. It’s leaves rustle softly as a pleasant summer breeze blows past. 

Fall is almost upon this land, and as leaves blow off the tree, twirling through the air, Zhao thinks they look like little kites. Lu Ten points them out aloud. 

Their peaceful bliss will not last long though. For soldiers, especially on as cursed as Zhao thinks he is, it never does. 

Friends

The first time he ever met Lu Ten, he didn’t expect to become friends. Let alone… Anything else. 

  
  
Success

Zhao had, throughout his military career, had collected a number of notable successes. He had clawed his way up through the ranks, refusing to let anything hold him down. He had faced his fair share of obstacles, and by the time he himself died, almost all of those obstacles were already long gone. 

Failure

Lu Ten fell into a habit of ‘correcting’ him very quickly, whenever he had the audacity to say he failed at something. It was infuriating, because sometimes one must just accept a failure and move on. Although, Zhao had to admit, it was… Endearing. 

Behaved

If he behaves, Jeong Jeong rewards him. But he’s begun to think the rewards are not worth the punishment he will receive for them if they’re discovered. 

Sometimes he wonders why he’s the one who’s punished, but he doesn’t dare ask. 

Naughty

Jeong Jeong loses patience with him quickly. 

He doesn’t care for discipline, doesn’t care for taking his time and controlling his power. All he cares about is that  _ he has power.  _

And on top of that power, he has a truly terrifying amount of rage for a boy his age.

Elementary

His teacher is sure to tell him exactly how basic every little mistake he makes is. How pathetic each and every misstep is. How foolish of a child he is. 

Zhao has had enough. 

Unforgiving

Zhao is not, nor has he ever been, the forgiving sort. 

And now that he’s come face to face with Jeong Jeong after so long, he fully intends to pay his old master back for all the suffering the old bitter bastard brought down on him. 

Learning

Combustion bending is a more precise art than he expected it to be, but it’s a skill he’s willing to put in the time to master. He is not, however, willing to get a facial tattoo. With a talent like this, why would he broadcast his greatest asset to the whole world? Show off his best card immediately. Give people an opportunity to plan against him in a meaningful way. 

No, Zhao will not get a fucking eye tattoo on his fucking forehead. He will, however, try to do this shit anyway. 

Marriage

Zhao dreamt about marrying Lu Ten. He dreamt about having a beautiful wedding, looking nice because he wanted to look nice, of Lu Ten dressed in his finest regalia... Somewhere in his heart he knew it would never happen... But it was fun to dream. 

Divorce

Killing the bastard in an Agni Kai is the closest thing Zhao can get to a divorce. But unfortunately for him, that’s not how it works out. 

And despite he lost the duel, he is still punished for embarrassing the Admiral. He should know better by now, shouldn’t he?

Dreams

Zhao has had nightmares since he was a teenager. 

Now, all he dreams about is that damned fish. Residing spirits only know where. Swimming in a little circle. Mocking him. 

He honestly isn’t sure which is worse. 

Single

Being single isn’t so bad. Now that Lu Ten is gone, he prefers to be alone anyway. The fewer attachments, the less likely he is to be upset over a death. The less likely any of his enemies are to get any substantial personal ammunition to use against him. 

  
  
Happy

He’s not happy to return to Ba Sing Se. 

He’s even less pleased when Jee disappears in the middle of the night, and he’s left alone. 

Although the worst is yet to come, because he is yet to meet Long Feng. But as it is often the case with newcomers to Ba Sing Se, he has been invited to Lake Laogai, and who is he to refuse an invitation from the Earth King?

Awkward

Zhao refuses to look his parents in the eye. After all they’ve put him through, why should he? He owes them nothing. His father clears his throat a couple of times, nervously looks around… 

“So,” the frail old son of a bitch begins, “You are… a Captain now.” Zhao doesn’t need their congratulations. Just like he didn’t need them to get to where he is. He made Captain on his own fucking merit, and he intends to let them know that, in no uncertain terms. 

Family

Zhao truly hopes both of his parents are rolling in their graves when he becomes an Admiral. He truly hopes their spirits are furious with him for not following their plans for his life. And he truly hopes he’s made both of them feel as inadequate and pathetic as they were, simply by virtue of being better than either of them could have ever hoped to be. 

Alone

He’s alone in Ba Sing Se. The worst place to be alone, really. Worse than the North Pole, even. Zhao would rather be anywhere else. Anywhere. He hates Ba Sing Se for a lot of reasons. 

And now, it’s even worse than he remembers it. 

_ “Admiral Zhao, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai.” _


End file.
